The Legacy of the Nordrassil Accord
(WIP) Prologue: The Grand March of the Fleetsong Company The beginning of the Nordrassil Accord, lies within a Kaldorei order once known as 'The Moonblade'. Led by Warden Melyria Starstrike, the Moonblade was a well-known and highly revered Darnassian offensive force charged with the protection of the Kaldorei lands. Before Galondel became the Elder Talon, he was a Lieutenant of the Moonblade and leader of the Cenarions within the order. On a moonlit eve in spring, the Moonblade received intelligence of a plot to strengthen the legion loyalists' foothold on Azeroth. A powerful Warlock had murdered a guardian Emerald dragon who was carrying an important artifact. An acorn of G'Hanir, the Mother Tree. It was said that G'Hanir was the tallest tree sitting atop the highest mountain. The Mother Tree occupied its own realm, guarded by Aviana herself. G'Hanir held seeds to all the flora on Azeroth. Nordrassil itself was frown from an acorn of G'Hanir. When the Mother Tree fell, only a small number of its acorns were salvaged. The Warlock planned to grow a corrupted World Tree called Feldrassil, or in the common tongue, The Crown of the Legion. Melyria's presence within the Moonblade became increasingly less influential, and the intelligence required attention. Spearheading the reaction force, Galondel mustered his Cenarions and set out for Winterspring, the last known location of the dragon. When he arrived, the spirit of the dragon had manifested itself in the form of a Stag. The Moonblade Cenarions transported the Stag to the Emerald Dragonshrine in Northrend where the Dragon was resurrected. This was where the Moonblade learned the truth of the situation. Galondel sought out Melyria and requested permission to call upon the allies of the Moonblade in order to raise a sizable force to go on campaign against the Warlock. He received a reluctant approval from the Warden. With the Warden's tentative consent, Galondel called upon his allies from across Azeroth: The Wolves of the Gray Rose, The League of Lordaeron and the Order of Malorne. Together, Galondel formed the Fleetsong Company, and set out to find Feldrassil. Over the next month and a half the Fleetsong Company marched through Felwood, Winterspring, Darkshore and even Lordaeron, destroying Legion strongholds in search of the corrupted World Tree. Until they finally reached the source of the dark energy... Desolace. Prior to the final march, Melyria appeared for the first time throughout the campaign. Furious with Galondel for enlisting the help of the Humans, she officially pulled the Moonblade from the campaign and publicly humiliated him. While many of the Moonblade's troops returned home, the most loyal of their ranks stayed with Galondel for the final push. The Warlock over through the native inhabitants of the Desolace and created three bases within the landscape, effectively creating a bastion for Feldrassil to corrupt. Deep within the mountains of Desolace, he constructed a fortress along a long canyon. Hundreds of soldiers formed the line to take the fortress. Kaldorei, Children of Goldrinn, Humans of Lordaeron, Humans of Gilneas, Dwarves, Gnomes, Shu'halo and Emerald Dragonkin. As one, they stormed the mountain fortress to reclaim the acorn of G'Hanir. When the day was done, corpses littered the canyon of Desolace. Sitting atop the cliff overlooking Desolace, was Galondel holding the acorn in his hands. A single tear running down his face, his soldiers gathered around him an saluted him in respect for this accomplishment. There was no feast, nor were there any songs sung that day. A silent, mournful evening ended the campaign, praying for the souls that had been lost. That same evening, Galondel's old friend Venoco Stillwind came to Galondel. Hyjal called upon the Shan'do to return to his homeland and lead a new order. An order which would stand for the balance and the safety of the lands. An order befitting of the World Tree itself. As a war hero, Fleetsong left Melyria and her Moonblade to travel to Hyjal, to become the Elder Talon. The Birth of the Accord Upon their arrival in Hyjal, Galondel and Venoco were greeted with thunderous applause and grateful citizens of Hyjal. They immediately traveled to the Shrine of Aviana where Galondel was appointed the Elder Talon of Hyjal. It was here that he received all the necessary resources to begin the unit. The Accord's purpose was to serve as an expeditionary force that would ride out and reinforce the allies of Hyjal in the name of defending the lands. The unit was comprised of warriors from all of Hyjal's segments, Kaldorei, Gilnean and Shu'halo alike. Serving as the Accord's first Captain, Venoco worked tirelessly alongside Galondel to construct a strong and long lasting unit. Together they forged the various trials that new recruits would undergo before they would progress to their final ranks. The Accord was beginning to seem more like a unit rather than a few soldiers with a banner. Within the first week of their existence, the Accord was called upon by Galondel's allies Rhazar and Mavei Lightleaf to fight alongside the Alliance in Pandaria. Normally, the Accord would remain neutral and not take sides in this conflict. However, the Horde planned on completely devastating the landscape of Pandaria, and Galondel would not stand to watch the lands scream in agony. Unable to send the entirety of the Accord, Galondel and Venoco traveled to Pandaria to support General Oxpalm's campaign. Fighting valiantly and memorably, the Accord's actions were met with the utmost level of gratitude from the other units present. At the end of the campaign, the Alliance emerged victorious. With their allies in the Wolves of the Gray Rose beside them, the Accord returned to Kalimdor to continue their mission. Upon their return, word had spread of the strength and value of the Accord. Recruitment for the unit tripled. Galondel worked tirelessly to train the new recruits and turn them into battle-heartened soldiers, worthy of Nordrassil's sigil. Corruption Within: The Fall of the Accord Venoco Stillwind's history was not the most honourable. Throughout his lifetime, he faced various forms of corruption ranging from Fel to Nightmare essence. During his time fighting with the Accord, Galondel worked with Venoco to help him overcome his weaknesses. However the years of corruption pooled inside Venoco, simply waiting for the perfect moment to emerge. During the early days of the Accord, the corruption was not apparent. Prior to Galondel leaving the Moonblade, Venoco attacked him on several occasions. He was forgiven multiple times as each of his attacks were caused by corruption. Rulona Starshatter, a Moonblade Lieutenant developed a pure hatred for Venoco. Perhaps Venoco's worst crime committed was when he ambushed The Elder Talon on sacred ground, that of Moonglade. Venoco was tried before an international Druidic court mustered by "The Cenarion Council", an organisation that Galondel Fleetsong and Aldreon Verdantclaw both founded. Venoco was charged with "Attacking an Elder Druid of Sacred Territory". For his crimes, he was permanently banished from the Moonglade, and was to answer to Lieutenant Starshatter as his parole officer. Months passed, and the Elder Talon still trusted Venoco. He saw the inner soul that laid within Venoco. the inner soul free of corruption and wayward dismay. He saw, the soul of a Talon. Unfortunately, Venoco betrayed Galondel once more. This time, would be his last. Once again, driven by corruption, Stillwind attacked Galondel. Fleetsong considered Venoco to be his brother. He trusted him with everything; they were family. For his final crime, Venoco was ordered to be executed. During his final days, Venoco was held at the Shrine of Aviana, carefully guarded by those of his order that he had chosen to betray. Had he been elsewhere, the passers-by would look down upon him with disgust. However here, among those that had brought him up. Among those he had fought alongside. Among those that had laid down their lives for him... Venoco would only receives looks of disappointment. There was a period in which Rulona Starshatter was temporarily relieved from her duty of guarding Venoco. During this time, deep within the barrow den where Venoco was being held, the corrupt Talon stumbled on something peculiar. The old Druid had found himself in an ancient den once inhabited by a Druid of the Pack. In a final act of survival, Venoco abandoned his identity as a Kaldorei and allowed for the corrupt curse of Goldrinn to overtake him. The, now lupine, corrupt Druid broke free from his cell and killed all in his past, disappearing. Unfortunately, the Hyjal Wardens had no choice but to disband the Accord for corruption. Disheartened, Galondel joined his longtime friend Welyn Maccon, more commonly known as, "Rhazar" the Black Wolf. In doing this, he became the Kaldorei ambassador to the Wolves of the Gray Rose. For four months, Galondel served as one of Rhazar's most loyal advisers. Serving not only as an ambassador, but as a prominent military officer. Leading many missions to strengthen the unit as a whole. Knight-Champion Huttser Swope was on a routine recruitment drive in Stormwind. One of his newest recruits was a curious Druid by the name of 'Saratheon Grovewalker'. From the beginning, the Worgen seemed odd and took an obvious disliking to the Kaldorei Ambassador. Within days of Venoco's escape, Rulona and Galondel were notified. An elite Warden search party, led by Rulona, set out to find the Druid. They traveled across Felwood, Darkshore, Desolace and finally, Feralas. It was here in Feralas where Venoco was found. An extraction party led by Rulona Starshatter with units from both the Wolves of the Gray Rose and the Moonblade set out into the heart of Feralas. As they followed the clues left by the Druid, they found dozens of Warden corpses littering the roads. With furious depression, the party would press on until they reached the Northern Isle where the emerald portal laid erect. It was here, amongst the corpses where the party found Saratheon Grovewalker. It was here, where they discovered the true identity of the Worgen. He was moved to Hyjal, where he was executed on the Rim of the World, before the Talon, by the closest thing he ever had to a Brother... Galondel. The Wolves of the Gray Rose: Hope Exists Following the Accord's fall, Fleetsong was sought out by his long time friend, Welyn Maccon, more commonly known as Lord Rhazar, the Black Wolf. Rhazar was the commander of a Gilnean unit known as 'The Wolves of the Gray Rose'. Galondel had worked with the unit many times before as they had been some of the Moonblade's closest allies. In the past, the Wolves served as a Gilnean task force based out of Darnassus. They're main goal was to aid the Kaldorei troops on Kalimdor. Around the same time that the Accord was founded, Rhazar decided to move the Wolves to the Eastern Kingdoms in order to prepare to move back into Gilneas. Rhazar sought out Galondel to serve as his ambassador to the Kaldorei people so that long-standing alliances were upheld. Aside from his standard political duties, Fleetsong served as a close military advisor to Rhazar. A condition of Galondel's service to the Wolves was that his role was to not be strictly political. He was a guardian of the lands, and was willing to fight for them. Throughout his time with the Wolves, Galondel served in various different combat operations ranging from ambushes in the Wetlands, extraction missions in the Blasted Lands, insertion missions in Silverpine, missions into the past, behind enemy lines in the Ghostlands, and even a large scale defense campaign in Ashenvale. Serving as one of Rhazar's closest friends, The Elder Talon did all he could to strengthen the unit. Shan'do Fleetsong was charged with leading a defensive initiative in Ashenvale against a Horde attempt to extend lumber operations in the area. Due to the escalation of the Darnassian war effort in Pandaria, Galondel was only given a small number of Sentinels to act as his army. Knowing this would not be enough, Galondel traveled to three of the four Azeorthian continents in search of old allies to aid him. Among them, The League of Lordaeron, The Blades of Greymane, The Lineage of the Moon and the Moonblade. The campaign lasted three days and expanded over the entirety of the Eastern region of Ashenvale. The small Alliance force began their mission at the Eastern front with Azshara, where they met the Horde force with a traditional Kalimdor welcome; an ambush. Although the first day ended formidably for the allied forces, the Horde's vastly stronger and more organized forces pushed through the much smaller force. It was not until the third day, in Astranaar, that Fleetsong's force was able to cripple the invasion force enough to force them to retreat to Orgrimmar. Although the campaign was a technical victory, the damage and casualties left behind in the wake of Garrosh's thrall hordes were devastating. After bearing witness to the Elder Talon's ability to muster an army from thin air, the Council of Archdruids and Elders of Hyjal decided that it would only be fitting if Fleetsong were reinstated as the commanding officer of the Nordrassil Accord. Blessed with Rhazar's finest warriors to serve as officers, veterans and ambassadors, Sir Huttser Swope, Sir Nicholas Graveshire, Lord William Sherton, Lady Araya Sherton, Baradir Hammond, Kieran Ashe and William Silverwood joined the Elder Talon in his return to Hyjal. Category:History